Israel Considers Limited Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Sites Amid U.S. Diplomatic Caution:

Israel has not ruled out military action on Iran's nuclear sites within the next few months, even with former U.S. President Donald Trump favoring diplomacy over aggression, as per Israeli and American officials.

Netanyahu still demands the complete eradication of Iran's nuclear capabilities and has warned that negotiations without absolute prerequisites might not prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

U.S. Urges Diplomacy, Israel Explores Unilateral Options

Trump reportedly told Netanyahu the U.S. does not intend to support a strike at this stage of the game and prefers diplomatic options. Still, Israeli officials are convinced they can execute a limited one without much help from the U.S.

Comprehensive options suggested in the last few months, such as precision bombings and special forces infiltrations, are aimed at postponing Iran’s advancement toward becoming a nuclear nation by a minimum of 6 to 12 months. This, however, could be challenging for U.S.-Israel relations given the context of the preliminary nuclear talks set to take place in Rome between the two superpowers.

Iran Promises Retaliation as Israel Looks for Support

The Iranian security official claimed that the Israeli military action would draw from Iran a response that would be ‘severe and uncompromising’. On the other hand, Israel is said to have asked the U.S. stand by to assist Israel in case Iran chooses to respond after an attack.

Israel has made most of the earlier submissions which, as was noted, did include one to the Biden administration, which made use of significant American funding, including military and intelligence resources. They also noted that the U.S. has remained skeptical citing reasons of safety, possible retaliation, and lack of support.

Israel Identifies Strategic Opportunity

The attacks during the recent Israel-US operations against Iran's regional allies, consisting of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, have assisted Iranian defense officials in seeing this as an advantageous opportunity to strike. Along with this, Israel also claims to have significantly ruined Iran's air defense systems during an exchange in October 2024.

While the urgency is there, Israeli leadership has not made moves towards setting any deadline. As it stands, the government continues to persuade the U.S. to halt negotiations which do not provide sufficient assurance that Iran will be powerless to create a nuclear weapon.